Building a glass tank: Questions...

[reefwars]

not really but im sure many do....hers how i went about it..


i laid my bottom on the paper ...because silicone will leak out the botton once all the sides are pushed together ....then your tank will be glued to the work table....not good so paper will fix that for you


after i laid the bottom down i ran a bead(a nice thick bead....dont skimp out here) down each edge of the back panel minus the top and then i ran a bead across the bottom of the left side panel.....it helps to have a friend there to help push it all together without it slippng on you and getting silicone everywhere

after i had the left side on and the back i went to the right side i siliconed the bottom of that panel and then connected it to the back.....taped everything in place and used clamps to keep the sides from leaning inward and becoming un square.....not what you want as square is very very very important.....


once all three sides are on its important not to wipe off anyexcess silicone at this point......ill explain in a minute......once all 3 sides are on i take a slicone gun and add a very nice bead(roughly 1/4" thick) all around the edges of the inside of the tank......after that i used some alcohol on my finger and run my fingers down the beads i just put down..........its very very important to not stop when running your finger.....so once you start to smooth it out dont let yur finger stop half way through or your gonna create a bump and even possibly a bubble..


reason for not wiping any silicone before i ran the beads inside is if i smoothed it out first i would be adding a second layer to that silicone anyways and now im trying to bond one layer to the next......its much better and stronger to have it all as one bead in one application

bubble free is the goal so ideally we want lots of silicone so we have a bond with the glass but we want it to be smooth.....bubbles take away from the strenght of silicone and its ugly to see


after i have done that the only step is too install the front so i ran a bead all around all edges minus the top and then connected it and ran a bead on the inside where i couldnt get before..


i tried to keep my fingerrunning to once only and tried not to keep going over the same bead......if it doesnt come out perfect you can always trim later if you wipe too much out with your thumb or finger then you wont know untill its too late so lots of silicone and trim later(if needed)


the silicone will cure in a few days but withi a couple weeks it will be hard as it can get......this is when you can add water im sure you can add it earlier but its smart to be safe .....patience is a virtue



lots of tape to keep it all together tight and use your square to make sure everything is square if your using glass thats been broke on a break.....being square is just as imprtant as doing the silicone right....if the suface isnt square then your gong to have a hard time getting all the edges to line up flush.....taje some extra time to level the working table using shims and the your good to go



would reccomend doing a dry fit first to make sure everything is cut right or doesnt need to be trmmed


use alcohol to clean edges of glass where the silicone will lay....its very important to have a clean surface for the silicone to bond in order to get the maximum hold capabilitie

if you had to scrape silicone off from an older tank its very very important to get all the silicone off using alcohol and razor blade.....silicone doesnt bond well to old silicone..


from what ive been told never glue acrylic to glass as it doesnt bond as well, its fine in your sump or overfow but for me at 60g thats around 600 lbs of water and you want to make sure yur new diy tank is as strong as it can be


this is what a glass guy told me the other day so im only repeating what he said about acrylic and glass this isnt my own personal experience as i could of had an acrylic bottom made for cheap but it didnt seem worth the risk



dont be afraid to do it its alot of fun and a learning experience none the less cheers buddy